Father James accepts confession from an unseen person, a victim of priest sexual abuse. The confessor says their abuser is dead and the Catholic community is largely indifferent, so they will murder an innocent priest to draw greater outrage. The confessor gives James until next Sunday to put his affairs in order.
Bishop Montgomery advises James to inform the police: the sin is pending and forgiveness wasn't sought, so James wouldn't break the seal of confession. James is visited by Fiona, his daughter from his pre-ordination marriage. James mentions her attempted suicide, but she blames it on her ex-boyfriend. James continues his parish duties, encountering antagonism from many locals.
James hears butcher Jack Brennan has hit his wife, Veronica, for having an affair with mechanic Simon. Jack blames Simon, and the couple attests they want a divorce. Simon refuses to talk with James, citing violent missions in his native Africa. James struggles to discuss Simon with Father Leary, who suggests ignoring everything as Simon could accuse them of racism.
James takes supplies to Gerald, an elderly American writer working in a cottage. Gerald asks James bring him a gun, afraid of succumbing to pain or senility. James visits Inspector Stanton and borrows an antique revolver from The Troubles. Stanton confides that he once arrested a priest on rape accusations, but was reassigned while the priest escaped as a missionary. Banker Michael Fitzgerald requests a house visit from James. Michael drunkenly brags about his exploitative wealth, bemoans detachment from his family and reality, and insults James. James responds that penance requires seeking forgiveness; Fitzgerald responds by urinating on a rare painting.
At the hospital, James performs the last rites for a fatally injured tourist. He comforts his widow, Teresa, who bravely accepts her husband's death. James visits cannibal prisoner Freddie Joyce, who is flippant about his crimes but still asks for forgiveness. James accuses Joyce of insincerity, but pities that nobody can understand him if not God.
While everyone is at a village pub gathering, the church is destroyed in arson. Montgomery blames James' would-be killer and presses him to report them; James refuses, noting every villager has grievances with him or the church. Fitzgerald offers a large sum for a new church, to the delight of Leary and the distaste of James. Fiona confronts James, saying he abandoned her after her mother's death, first by alcohol and then by priesthood. James apologizes and they embrace. That night, James finds his dog, Bruno, dead with his throat cut. James tearfully buries Bruno, concealing his death from Fiona as she departs.
At the pub, James is mocked by the locals and relapses. James drunkenly destroys the bar with the revolver, before fighting publican Brendan. Leary finds James, bloody and drunk, and chides him as Brendan is Buddhist; James berates Leary's ignorance and his uselessness as a priest. James wakes to find Leary entering a taxi. Leary confesses religious doubts and James apologizes, telling Leary he doesn't hate him but that Leary has no integrity.
James decides to fly to Dublin, but happens across Teresa. Seeing her husband's coffin being disrespected by airport staff, James returns to his parish. On Sunday, James meets Gerald; Gerald boasts he finished his book, and James wishes him luck. James calls Fiona, saying sin is considered too much over virtue and forgiveness, and they fully reconcile. James throws the revolver off a cliff, only for a suicidal Fitzgerald to appear. James promises to visit later, and embraces the tearful Fitzgerald.
James waits on the beach as butcher Jack Brennan appears with a gun. Jack confesses to arson and hitting Veronica, but denies killing Bruno. Hearing James' remorse for Bruno, Jack asks if he cried for children abused by priests. James admits feeling detached, and Jack shoots him; an altar boy witnesses the shot and runs for help. James assures Jack it's not too late to stop. Jack tells James to say his prayers; James says he already has, and Jack executes him.
In brief tableaux, we see the parishioners and Teresa going about their quotidian lives. The final scene ends as Fiona visits Jack in prison, both picking up their phone handsets as it cuts to black.
McDonagh conceived the idea for Calvary and wrote the screenplay while filming The Guard with Gleeson in late 2009. McDonagh explained the intentions he had for the film: "There are probably films in development about priests which involve abuse. My remit is to do the opposite of what other people do, and I wanted to make a film about a good priest." He elaborates that it is tonally "in the same darkly comedic vein as The Guard, but with a much more serious and dramatic narrative."[14] Gleeson's casting was announced in October 2011.[14] The casting of Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly and Aidan Gillen was announced in February 2012,[10] while further casting was announced in August 2012.[12]
Principal photography
Filming began on 24 September 2012.[11] The production spent three weeks shooting in and around County Sligo primarily in the town of Easkey where the film is set and also on the Streedagh beach in north county Sligo, with some shooting in Ardgillan CastleBalbrigganDublin followed by two weeks of filming in Rush, Dublin.[12]
Calvary received positive reviews from critics and has a score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 158 reviews with an average rating of 7.6/10. The critical consensus states "Led by a brilliant performance from Brendan Gleeson, Calvary tackles weighty issues with humour, intelligence, and sensitivity."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 77 out of 100, based on 42 critics.[18]
Justin Chang of Variety magazine praised Gleeson for his soulful performance, called the film a "masterful follow-up to The Guard", and predicted near-certain critical plaudits at a distinguished arthouse reception for the film.[19]
Tim Griersen of Screen International also praised Gleeson for his performance and the film, calling it "A rich character drama that's equally eloquent and despairing, Calvary carries a weary resignation that feels lived-in and deeply considered." He cautions that the film might prove to be a hard sell as it examines religious faith and does not fit in an easily marketable genre.[2]
Xan Brooks of The Guardian comments on the self-referential nature of the film, and also calls the film "terrific (at least until the denouement, when it rather strains for grandeur)". Brooks gives the film 4/5.[20]
Praising Calvary for its treatment of its weighty thematic elements, Lauren Ely for First Things wrote: "Is it possible for a film to capture the horror of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church while at the same time presenting a case for the necessity of the institutional priesthood? Against all odds, this is exactly what Irish director John Michael McDonagh's Calvary manages to do."[21]
In his review, the cultural commentator and Catholic bishop Robert Barron writes that the film "shows, with extraordinary vividness, what authentic spiritual shepherding looks like and how it feels for a priest to have a shepherd's heart."[22]
Xan Brooks in The Guardian compared it to a mysterious and surreal retelling of the Passion.[23]
